NEW DELHI, Jan 28: In a politically vital endorsement of Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani’s rejection of talks with Pakistan in at least the foreseeable future, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Monday there was no point holding a dialogue only to brace for a battle with the same foe the next day.
And in a distinct hardening of India’s position towards Pakistan, it was the hawkish home ministry that called the shots on Monday and Vajpayee’s remarks appeared to only marginalise the more diplomatically savvy foreign ministry which had been at least keeping up the appearance of hopes alive of talks with Islamabad, even if they were peppered with conditions.
“Our neighbour keeps inviting us for meetings and talks but I ask them what do we do with the meetings, if we have to meet to fight. It is better to remain separate,” Vajpayee said addressing a public rally in the state central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
The rejection of talks follows President Pervez Musharraf’s call for a “serious and sustained dialogue” with India. Vajpayee’s endorsement of Advani’s hardline approach to Pakistan is believed to be a political necessity that has uses in the arriving election in key states.
The prime minister recalled how he had taken the bus-ride to Lahore in search of peace in February 1999. “We talked friendship but actions were different and we were attacked in Kargil.”
Vajpayee’s tough words coincided with the killing of two alleged Pakistani men in the northern state of Jharkhand early on Monday. The home ministry said the men were involved in the recent attack on the American Center in Kolkota in which motorcycle-borne gunmen had killed four policemen guarding the building.
Advani himself confirmed that the two killed were Pakistanis. Later Home Secretary Kamal Pande told reporters that one of the two, Zahid, had even confessed to the crime before he succumbed to his injuries in the raid conducted by the police on the building in which they were hiding. Pande said Zahid belonged to Khanewala District in the Multan region of Pakistan. The other man, identified as Salim, was also from Pakistan. An AK-47, believed to have been used in the incident in Kolkata, was also recovered from the spot.
He added that it had also been established that these persons were linked to Pakistan’s ISI agency.
Pande said intelligence information had become available about a terrorist module in Hazaribagh being run by Farhan Malik alias Aftab Ahmed Ansari who had claimed responsibility for the Kolkata shoot-out in a phone call from Dubai.
It had also become known that Farhan operated this terrorist module in conjunction with Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami and the banned Lashkar-i-Taiba.
Pande said there had been at least five cases of subversion and espionage in recent months in which persons arrested in India admitted to being Pakistani nationals, who had been sent for sabotage and terrorism at the behest of ISI. Some reports claimed the two belonged to the Laskar-i-Taiba group.
Whatever be the merit of the claims, it was clear on Monday that the home ministry was not keen to let them pass unnoticed.
If there was any doubt, it was soon settled by Advani himself. He reiterated on Monday that a halt to infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir and ending their training will be the “litmus test” by which India will judge whether Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has abandoned the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
The minister said he could not judge whether Musharraf has stopped training, arming and financing terrorists “but can certainly see whether infiltration has stopped or not.”
He also said he would not object if Mumbai underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, claimed by India to be sheltered in Karachi, was handed over to the United States for trial although he did not think Gen Musharraf would make the offer.
Advani had told Gen Musharraf during his India visit in July that he would change the political climate in India if he handed over Dawood Ibrahim, accused of masterminding a series of bombings in Mumbai in 1993.
Reuters adds: Mr Vajpayee eased concern on Monday about an imminent conflict with Pakistan by declaring there would be no war between the two countries.
In some of the most optimistic comments about relations since the two countries put one million troops on standby, Mr Vajpayee also said diplomatic efforts to resolve their disputes were meeting with success.
“There will be no war between the two countries and all issues will be resolved peacefully,” the Press Trust of India quoted Mr Vajpayee as telling reporters in the central Indian city of Raipur.
“Diplomatic efforts are on and meeting with success. There is no question nor a decision to proceed towards a military action,” PTI quoted Mr Vajpayee as saying.
Mr Vajpayee said Pakistan maintained Kashmir was the central issue to resolve the animosity between the two neighbours.
“If Kashmir is the central issue, then one-third of Kashmir is occupied by Pakistan illegally. Therefore, they should return that to India first and then start talks,” Mr Vajpayee said.
